Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The UK is Ireland's largest customer for food and drink. Exports were valued at €4.4 billion in 2015. The UK takes approximately 40% of our food and drink exports. There has been strong growth in non-EU markets in recent years but the UK remains our main market, with the value of this trade increasing by more than €1 billion. Clearly, Brexit will have an important impact on targets. There should be a review of Food Wise 2025 in order that we do not sleepwalk farmers and ourselves into incurring additional capital investment to achieve targets, which could result in loss-making scenarios. In other words, the head would not be worth a wash. I accept that the Minister is not a soothsayer but surely it must be the essence of prudence to review matters by way of evaluating alternative scenarios that might emerge in order that the farming public might be fully advised. There will not be many agreements made. Under CAP, Ireland gets €1.2 billion and Brexit will have a huge impact on this. I have been on about this for a long time. What countries will fill the €10 billion hole in the CAP budget when the UK leaves? We had better be straight with farmers and say that Brexit will have an impact on CAP payments now. The Minister should not fiddle around and pretend that something will not happen when it is clear that it will happen.

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